Synergy’s Surprising Genre Switch on “Dark Machine II”

The Eatbrain imprint has made itself a neurofunk mainstay for a while now, recognized in recent years for being at the leading edge of the grinding, metallic, and heavily syncopated beats that make up the drum & bass subgenre. Similarly, Synergy—a duo from Russia, who have thus far released on Blackout, Trendkill, and NËU, just to name a few—are quickly becoming synonymous with cinematic and steppy neurofunk. However, their new release on Eatbrain, called Dark Machine, challenges those notions for both parties with its featured cut, “Dark Machine II.”

Synergy has dipped down a few digits into straight beats before, and they had some of the most popular half-time tracks of 2017. But “Dark Marchine II” is the duo’s first venture into a faster, more techno-style beat structure. Eatbrain encourages its artists to experiment on their releases, with recent EB tracks spanning half-time, dubstep, techno, and even breaks. On their recent Hellblade EP, Teddy Killerz said label-head Jade asked them to come up with a wild-card track. The result was possibly the EP’s best offering, a funky breaks track called “Machine Heart.” This kind of encouragement might be what pushed Synergy to play around with techno.

“Dark Machine II” showcases Synergy’s powerful sound design and heavy production, underlined by a lot of twists and turns. The track opens with a menacing, ‘80s-inspired synth, and because the intro builds like a D&B track, it’s hard to tell at the drop if the heavy techno beat is the song’s final form.

Once the direction is clear, the addition of two or three different types of snare and a few menacing synths give the track an even more unexpected, industrial vibe. In fact, as the snarling vocal samples hit at the end of each phrase, that industrial feel continues to intensify as different snares are added in. The breaks are really where Synergy’s foundation in drum & bass shines through, though, as said interludes are quite clearly designed like neurofunk breaks. “Dark Machine II” has the sound design of a D&B track, and that’s why it blends so seamlessly with the other tracks on the EP.

With a surprising mélange of styles and sound design so sharp, Synergy could cut glass with this if they wanted to. “Dark Machine II” is not only a highlight of the Dark Machine EP, but it’s yet another example of why experimentation should always be encouraged—especially when it comes to drum & bass. The EP is out now on Beatport and will be available worldwide next Monday.

Available April 30 via Eatbrain.

Buy Synergy’s Dark Machine EP here.

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